Meet Chris Luk …

My name is Chris and I am a full-time wedding, portrait, & event photographer based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

A bit about me:
I laugh too loudly too often!
My foot naturally taps with the music.
I proudly call myself a geek and a nerd.
I drink too much freshly squeezed orange juice for my own good.

Why am I a wedding photographer?
My faith has a lot to do with it.

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Christopher Luk is a wedding, lifestyle, and event photographer based in Toronto whose signature “hands-on documentary” style is full of life and joy. He has a unique ability to encapsulate meaningful, heartwarming, and emotional storytelling of sentimental moments in an artistic way. Chris has a passion not only for weddings, but for seeing marriages succeed, and relationships endure for a lifetime. He loves spending time with his wife and 2 children (an energetic boy and a beautiful girl); being a foodie and delicious food consumer; and satisfying his guitar and audio & video gear acquisition syndrome.

Jillaine first emailed me 23 months before her wedding day and said “Hi Chris, I want to let you know that I have fallen in love with your photography … I have kept you in mind for my wedding all these years. When anyone asked me who I was going with – I instantly told them it would be you.” That was such an amazing and encouraging initial email to read from a bride / engaged couple!

Whenever Jillaine and Willie saw each other on their wedding day, they did so many hilarious things to each other: funny faces, the ridiculous over-the-top gestures they would make, and sticking their hands into each others pockets … So silly! It was adorable to see how much fun they have side-by-side and how contagious their clowning around is together. They also showcased their mutual love for the classic video games: Space Invaders and The Legend of Zelda! From the famous “It’s dangerous to go alone!” quote engraved in their handmade mokume gane rings (that they also forged themselves), to having Link’s shield on their boutonnières, and sharing various coloured potion bottles with their guests, it was a fun way to integrate their admiration of Zelda.

Willie: I know that Jillaine said that she always wanted to dance and twirl and spin in a princess dress on her wedding day, so thanks for making that happen. You both did such an amazing job with your spontaneous first dance at the dinner reception: so filled with joy and smiling from ear to ear! Loved it!

Thank you for trusting me as we walked through your wedding planning journey together for nearly 2 whole years!
Congratulations, #yunited2018! :)

Like this:

I love being a part of weddings where the groom gets visibly emotional. Here’s a secret: men are extremely emotional about things they care about. Does your man say that he’s not an emotional person? Simply watch him while he’s watching his favourite sports team is get pummelled or when they score that game-winning point — I guarantee you that some kind of emotion will be stirred up there! In other words, when a groom shows an emotional response to his bride on their wedding day, he is proving that he cares for her very much. In Deven’s (Kevin’s Best Man) speech, he talked about how Kevin automatically and selflessly puts others before himself, how that played out over time in their friendship together, and how that level of kindness works well in marriage: stories like that are so encouraging to hear.

Leslie and Kevin travelled all the way here to Toronto from Vancouver, and I’m so thankful that I got to know them, and their amazing friends who travelled from all over the world to join them here too! Because they needed to plan and organize their wedding long-distance, they leaned heavily on my personal recommendations for other wedding partners / vendors, so it was nice to be reunited again with so many great friendly faces that day: I’ve been a part of the wedding industry here in Toronto for 9 years now, so I’ve gotten to know a lot of amazing people over that time!

While it might seem strange to many (especially since you always hear a few people at the ceremony laugh at how ridiculous the concept is), I love it when couples do a foot washing ceremony for each other on their wedding day! It’s symbolic of how they will choose to lay down their pride, humble themselves, and put the other person first:

“We live in a very proud and egotistical generation. It is now considered acceptable and even normal for people to promote themselves, to praise themselves, and to put themselves first. Pride is considered a virtue by many. Humility, on the other hand, is considered a weakness. Everyone, it seems, is screaming for his or her own rights and seeking to be recognized as someone important …

When you are tempted to think of your dignity, your prestige, or your rights, open your Bible to John 13 and … Think about this: the majestic, glorious God of the universe comes to earth—that’s humility. Then He kneels on the ground to wash the feet of sinful men—that’s indescribable humility …

Love that is real is love expressed in activity, not just words … The result of that kind of humility is always loving service—doing the menial and humiliating tasks for the glory of Jesus Christ. That demolishes most of the popular ideas of what constitutes spirituality.”

There’s nothing magical in the ceremony itself, but it is a tangible reminder to actively love each other selflessly in a counter-cultural “you before me” kind of way every day (which definitely isn’t easy).

The weather this summer has been very strange: huge amounts of rain almost every single weekend! It was originally forecast to be a total downpour on Agnes and Nate’s wedding day, but it ended up being mostly cloudy and overcast instead: a huge sigh of relief from us all, especially during their creative portrait session! :)

Plus, I’m super thankful that they decided to set aside some time at the dinner reception for a quick private photo session during “Golden Hour”! Even on a cloudy overcast day, you can still get a glimpse of that characteristic warm glow. And Agnes, I have a confession to make … even though we joked about how tacky and overdone pictures at the gazebo are, they turned out to be some of my favourite photos from the day! :p